Sewing machine and template for use therewith



Jan. 24, 1939. J s'rRoop 2,145,060

SEWING MACHINE AND TEMPLATE FOR USE THEREWITH Filed may 21, 1955 r121 E Ti 2 2 go /0 2/ 22 I 0 X y x 25 i, 2;

24 \NVENTOR JbH/v 5 TEOOP ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES SEWING MACHINE AND TEMPLATE FOR. USE 'rnsmzwrrn John Stroop, New York, N. Y., assignor to Pad-Y- Wax Company, Inc., a corporation of New York 7 Application May 21, 1935, Serial No. 22,524

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to sewing machines and templates for use therewith.

In certain sewing operations it is necessary to .stitch together two or more layers of fabric, along a more or less irregular seam to form an article in which all the layers are of identical shape. As examples of such articles, reference is made to gloves, mittens, pads, certain parts of garments and other articles which may be made up out of two or more identical parts sewed together about the edge.

In the ordinary manufacture of articles such as referred to, each piece is usually cut to shape either by scissors or cloth-cutting machines, and the two-articles are basted or manually held together while the operator guides them through the sewing machine.

The preser." invention is more particularly devised to facilitate the formation of pads having three plys of material and wherein the middle or inner ply consists of a layer of loosely carded fibres. When one attempts to sew three such layers of material in an ordinary sewing machine, the slippage between the layers is so great that the upper layer of fabric shifts relative to the lower layer and the resulting product is not uniform, as to size and shape. By employing the template to be described herein, it has been found possible to operate the sewing machine at high speed to stitch the three layers together to form the pads, and to do this without any preliminary basting of the parts together. The template contemplated herein is adapted to rest on the uppermost layer of fabric during the sewing operation and holds the upper layer against movement relative to the lower layers. The template also forms a convenient guide for the presser foot of the sewing machine so as to determine the contour or configuration of the line of stitching. If desired, the template may be used in a combined sewing and shearing machine wherein the sewed fabric is sheared adjacent the line of stitches.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawing shows'for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, two of the many embodiments inwhich the invention may take form, it being understood that the drawing is illustrative of the invention rather than limiting the same.

In the drawing- Fig. l is a transverse sectional view through a template;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the sewing machine and template at an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a detail;

Fig.- 4 is a sectional view through a template of modified form of construction; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the template in a sewing machine. The template shown in Fig. 1 has a relatively stiff sheet metal body portion In with an upwardly bent' flange II. This body portion is slitted as indicated at I! in Fig. 3 to facilitate soldering it to a grip or handle I and to a thin sheet metal plate IS. The thin plate l5 extends beyond the shoulder II and is provided with downwardly pressed prongs or other forms of roughening as indicated at IS. The body portion of the template shown in Fig. 4 is in the form of a sheet metal stamping l1 having a downwardly extending shoulder I1. It is secured to the bottom plate l8 by a short tube I9. In either case, the lower sheet metal plate is comparatively flexible and is able to bend downwardly away from the body plate, as will be clear from Fig. 2.

The plies of fabric to be used may be blanked out to be of approximate size and shape, or small enough to permit easy manipulation through a sewing machine.

When the device isto be used, it is placed on top of the layers of fabric and the margin or edge of the thin plate inserted under the presser foot indicated at 20. The template is completely disconnected from the work support W, and hence can twist andturn as the configuration of the design requires. The pressure on the presser foot bends the thin plate downwardly and compresses the filling material 2| (between the two fabric layers 22and"23), and the machine operated to sew. The feeder mechanism 24 advances the fabric and by moving the template as a guide a seam of the desired configuration is formed by the needle 25. This seam is free of wrinkles, puckers, or the like. When the sewing machine is provided with shearing knives, such as indicated at 26 and 21, the article is trimmed close to the line of stitches. With an overlook stitch sewing machine the shearing is prior to the stitching and the stitches enclose the sheared edge.

It will be understood that the template may have various shapes and configurations, depending upon the shape of the seam which is to be produced. For producing a glove or mitten, the template will have the shape of the glove or mitten desired, while for producing a pad, the template may be approximately square or rectangular with rounded corners.

It is obvious that the invention may be embodied in many forms and constructions within the scope of the claims, and I wish it to be understood that the particular forms shown are but a few of the many forms. Various modifications and changes being possible, I do not otherwise limit myself in any way with respect thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for securing together two or more layers of fabric, comprising a sewing machine having the usual work support, stitching needle, presser foot and feeder mechanism on which the lower layer of fabric bears, and a template completely disconnected from the work support and resting on the upper layer of fabric to move therewith and hold the fabric layers against relative slippage as the fabric is fed through the sewing machine by engagement of the feeder mechanism with the lower layer of fabric, the template having a thin flexible marginal portion extending under the presser foot and adapted to readily bend so that the entire pressure of the presser foot is transferred to the fabric adjacent the needle, the margin having an edge whose configuration corresponds to the contour of the seam to be sewed, the needle path being beyond the margin of the template, and a guide shoulder spaced uniformly from the edge thereof.

2. A sewing machine template adapted to rest on and move in all directions with goods during sewing and having a flexible element provided with a thin downwardly depressible, peripheral edge adapted to extend under the presser foot of a sewing machine and having a configuration to conform to the line of stitching to be formed, the template having a shoulder evenly spaced from the edge to engage the side of the presser foot of the sewing machine and prevent the shoulder from passing under the presser foot.

3. A sewing machine template having a thin, fiat sheet metal plate adapted to rest on fabric, and a superposed, rigid body portion having a shoulder spaced inwardly from the edge of the plate, the body portion being secured to the plate at points spaced from the shoulder and the sheet metal plate being movable relatively to the shoulder so that the plate may yield relative to the body portion.

4. A sewing machine template having a thin, flat sheet metal plate adapted to rest on fabric, and a superposed, rigid body portion having a shoulder spaced inwardly from the edge of the plate, the body portion being secured to the plate at points spaced from the shoulder and the sheet metal plate being movable relatively to the shoulder so that the plate may yield relative to the body portion, the margin of the plate having a roughened lower surface.

5. A sewing machine template having a thin, fiat sheet metal plate adapted to rest on fabric, a superposed, rigid body portion having a shoulder spaced inwardly from the edge of the plate, the body portion being secured to the plate at points spaced from the shoulder and the sheet metal plate being movable relatively to the-shoulder so that the plate may yield relative to the body portion, and an upwardly extending grip carriedby the body portion.

6. A machine for securing together two or more layers of fabric, comprising a sewing machine having the usual work support, stitching needle, presser foot and feeder mechanism on which the lower layer of fabric bears, and a template completely disconnected from the work support and resting on the upper layer of fabric to move therewith and hold the fabric layers against relative slippage as the fabric is fed through the sewing machine by engagement of the feeder mechanism with the lower layer of fabric, the template having a thin flexible marginal portion extending under the presser foot and adapted to readily bend so that the entire pressure of the presser f0ot is transferred to the fabric adjacent the needle, the margin having an edge whose configuration corresponds to the contour of the seam to be sewed,

the template and presser foot having coacting.

guiding means which, .while permitting the bending of the template margin, insure that the needle path is a flxed distance beyond the margin of the template.

7. A machine such as claimed in claim 6 wherein the template has peripherally arranged prongs engaging the upper layer of fabric and holding the layers in fixed rotation to each other.

JOHN S'I'ROOP. 

